HC Deb 10 March 1971 vol 813 cc404-5
36. Mr. Evelyn King

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the number of villages in England and Wales in which county planning authorities seek to discourage residential development of any kind.

Mr. Graham Page

Many counties have policies which encourage residential development in some towns and villages and discourage it in others, but the information requested is not available.

Mr. King

Is my hon. Friend aware that I can quote one county in which all development is banned in 20 villages? If that sort of thing happens all over Great Britain, the number is considerable. Is he aware that men and women in villages breed, and when they breed they want shelter? It is an inhumane policy that forbids a young couple to have a house in the village in which their father and mother live. There is no defence for it.

Mr. Page

In general, we prefer to leave things of this sort to the local planning authority to decide. [Laughter.] Perhaps that answer was a little ambiguous. My Department has from time to time issued bulletins encouraging a positive policy of guiding development to the right place.